Branding-machine.



' UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

EEIMAN u. LEVY, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

BRANDlNG-MACHIN.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,846, dated June 5', 1900.

Serial No. 716,327. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, IIEIMAN H. LEVY, a citizen of the United States,`residing at Baltimore city, in the State of Maryland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Branding-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in branding-machines; and the objects of my improvement are, iirst, to provide a means for indelibly marking leather r other soft material-such as the sweat-leather of hats, shoes, satchels, pocket-books, zc-and, secondly, to provide means for spacing the characters, to provide means for holding the material to be branded, and to provide means for releasing said material. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of the machine, showing the levers in full. Fig. 2 is a front view of the clamping and spacing mechanism. Fig. 3 is a top view of the rotatable plate, to which are fastened the characters. Fig. 4 is a sectional view ot the plunger counter or platen. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of Fig. 4, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The handle 1 is attached to the main level.` 2, which is pivoted bythe pin 3 in the frame 4 ofthe machine and is connected by the pin 5 to thelink 6,which is connected at one end by the pin 7 to thelever 10. This lever 10, held by the spring 22 normally in position for operating, is pivoted in the hanger 38 by the pin 12 and is attached at its other end 13 to the plunger counter or platen 19 by means of pin 14. Lever 10 is also connected by pin 8 to one end of spacing-lever ll, which is pivoted byfpin 9 in the hanger 39. The other end of spacing-lever 11 is connected by pin 16 to one end of rocking lever 15. This rocking lever 15 is attached at its other end by pin 15 to ratchet-lever 17, which is pivoted by stud 36 to the frame 4 and carries the pawl 1S, pivoted by a pin to operate the ratchet 37 in the spacing-drum 37. The pawl is made to catch the teeth of the ratchet by spring 55.

The spacing-drum 37 rotates on the stud 36 and-is secured thereto by the nut and locknut 35. The gascock 24 serves to regulate the fuel to the Bunsen burner 2O under the -shield 21, which prevents the fiame from coming in contact with the material to be branded. The liame from the burner is made to enter a recess 44 in the plunger platen orcounter, and at the top of this recess 44 is an opening 2', which serves both as a iue for the burned gases and to modify the elfect of the liame. In the center of the frame 4 is a post 22, on which rotates the die-plate 27, carrying the dies 23. This die-plate is held steady and prevented from rising off said post 22 by the cross-bar 26, which is secured t0 the frame 4 by the steady-pin 25 and tothe post 22 by the nut 28 on the screw 29. On top of said cross-bar and near the front of the machine is a trunnion 32, supporting an eccentric cam 30, pivoted by pin 31, which operates to hold the knurled wheels 34, fixed to lever 33, ed of the spacing-drum 37 Lever 33 is pivoted in cross-bar 26 by the pin 33 and is provided with a spring 3' to normally keep theknurled Wheels 34 upon the spacing-drum 37. Spring 22 serves to holdlever 10 normallyin position for operating plunger counter or platen 19.

The top or visible surface of the die-plate 27 is marked 50, so as to indicate the character of the die Vdirectly underneath, and the pointer 51 accurately shows when the die is directly over the plunger counter or platen. To operate the machine, the eccentric cam 30 is thrown forward, raising the knurled wheels 34, attached to lever 33, off the spacing-drum 37. This enables the material to be inserted between the die-plate 27 and the plungercounter 19. The eccentric cam 30 is then released, when the spring 3 will force the knurled wheels 34 to clamp the material upon the spacing-drum 37 The gas has previously been turned on at cock 24 and ignited at the Bunsen burner 20, and after the plunger platen or counter is hot the handle 1 is depressed, causing the main lever 2, by means of link 6 and lever 10, to thrust upward the plunger platen or counter 19, pressing the material against the die 23. Now when lever 10 moves to raise the plunger-platen 19 it also raises, by means of lever Vl1, the rocking lever 15, which in turn raises the ratchetroo lever 17 and the pawl 1S one space farther up in the ratchet 37 in the spacing-drum 3'. Pressure being removed from the handle 1, spring 22' returns the plunger-platen to its normal position, at the same time operating, through levers 10 11 15 17, to rotate the spacing-drum 37 one space forward. This process may be repeated as many times as the number of characters to be branded.,

It will be seen that the die-plate 27 is free to rotate horizontally in either direction, while the plunger platen or counter is provided With a vertical movement only, and in operating the die remains stationary, while the plunger-platen is forced upward against the die to make the impression.

I do not Wish to limit myself to the special construction shown and may use other means for heating the platen or counter.

I am aware that it is common to brand material by heating the die; but this I do not broadly claim.

That I claim, and desire Letters Patent for, is-

1.v In a branding-machine, the combination with a vertically-stationary die and an independently vertically movable counter, of means for heating said movable counter, substantially as described.

2. In a branding-machine, the combination with a die and counter, of means for heating said counter, substantially as described.

3. In a branding-machine, the combination with a series of dies which may be brought into juxtaposition with a single counter, of means for heating said counter and means for operating the counter to cause thc brandingr, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

IIEIMAN Il. LEVY.

\Vitnesses:

1l. F. SinoNs, J. ALEX. HILLEARY, Jr. 

